July, 1916 
BREEDING OF TIARIS CANORA 
149 
Cayman. It did not seem to be common, though the black and white of the males is 
conspicuous enough to attract attention. A nest with three well-incubated eggs was 
taken March 18, 1915. Nest globular, with entrance in side; built in a dense thorny 
tree by side of trail through scrub; twelve feet from ground; male on nest. The nest 
resembles closely that of the Melodious Grassquit. The eggs are unlike any others 
known to me, although the description does not seem peculiar. Ground color yellow- 
ish white, spotted with lilac and brown, chiefly about larger end. Size .73x-53 inches. 
Tiaris canora. Melodious Grassquit. This species finds a place on the A. O. U. 
List by virtue of its accidental occurrence on Sombrero Key, a tiny islet off the southern 
end of the Florida peninsula. As its eggs are not too common in collections, and little 
information regarding its nidification appears to have been recorded, I was particularly 
pleased to find this species generally distributed, and breeding abundantly on the reser- 
vation. My first set was taken March 9, 1915; and, as no fresh eggs were observed 
after the 18th, it seems probable that the breeding season, for the bulk of this species 
at least, is comparatively restricted. The nests vary little in structure, being globular 
in shape, with a side entrance, the whole affair about the size and shape of a Marsh 
Fig. 42. Arboreal Ants’ Nest with growth of Epiphytes: Cuba 
Wren’s. On the whole, they are very neatly constructed, of fine grey fibres so com- 
pactly woven that they seem to last for several seasons. Old nests were so common 
and fresh looking as to make collecting difficult, for it was not usual to find a bird at 
home even when a nest held incubated eggs, and as they were always in thorn trees it 
was no small matter to investigate each one individually. The parents, in fact, seem 
to take little interest in their household duties; usually they appear after some waiting 
and then show no great concern about the operations of the intruder. 
As the trees and shrubs in this locality have generally very small leaves the nests 
are very conspicuous objects where the ground is at all open; naturally most of mine 
were taken in such situations or along the trails, but I saw others in very dense scrub. 
With one exception all were in thorny trees, one particular species being generally 
selected. The exception noted was taken from the upright triple fork of a cactus grow- 
ing in an open glade. The nest was about eight feet high and I hooked it out, eggs and 
all, with a forked stick. In some cases the nests were so firmly entangled among thorns 
that it was difficult to displace them intact, and still more difficult to remove the eggs; 
